In recent years, in many environments such as offices, an information terminal device and a multifunction printer have been connected to each other via a network, and a user of the information terminal device has been able to cause the multifunction printer to perform print processing on desired data by issuing a print instruction on the information terminal device.
Security for a printing operation is required in many cases such as a case in which a permission is only given to a specified multifunction printer or a case in which a specified printed matter is not permitted to be reprinted. In a case in which an information terminal device and a multifunction printer are connected to each other via a network, as described above, various technologies are known as a technology for controlling security for a printing operation via the network. In an environment in which the multifunction printer is not connected to the network, for example in a case in which data to be printed is stored in a universal serial bus (USB) memory, the USB memory is inserted into an insertion port of the multifunction printer, and print processing is performed, a technology is conceivable for including security information in electronic data to be stored in the USB memory so as to control security for a printing operation.
However, in a case in which security for a printing operation is controlled by using a USB memory or the like in an environment in which a multifunction printer is not connected to a network, as described above, a manuscript always needs to be converted into electronic data. Therefore, as an example, in a case in which a document is first printed on paper, a printed matter is read by an off-line multifunction printer, and regular printing is performed, a problem arises wherein security for such paper printed matter fails to be controlled.
Conventionally, as a technology for reading paper printed matter and controlling the printing out of the printed matter, a technology is known in which when the number of times in which it is determined that specified image data is included in read image data is, for example, 0, an output is started before the determination of image data is completed such that an unnecessary waiting time of a general user is eliminated, and when the number of times of the determination above is, for example, one or more, an output is only started after it is determined that the specified image data is not included such that a specified image is prevented from being output (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-235375).